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National View: Energy Favoritism is Clear in all the Hype for Renewables

Via The Duluth News Tribune: Energy favoritism now has become a bonafide topic of conversation in Washington, D.C. Where else but in our nation’s capital could energy subsidies and government intervention become a heated topic at New Year’s parties? But it has, energized by two potentially significant events breaking simultaneously. First are the federal tax […]

Can America’s Power Grid Withstand a Brutal Winter?

Via The Washington Examiner: Maybe you have to live in the Northeast — or even Southeast United States — to get the full effect. But right now, much of the country is struggling through brutally cold weather. It’s not uncommon to see temperatures down in the teens across much of the South. And record sub-zero […]

Cold Snap Arrives at Key Moment for Coal, Nuclear Power

Via The Hill: The coal and nuclear industries are pointing to the cold snap sweeping the eastern United States as Exhibit A for why the federal government should help their power plants. Those industries and their allies hope that the record-setting winter weather will give a boost to a proposal from Energy Secretary Rick Perrythat would […]

Winter Storm to Test Northeast Grid as FERC Tees Up Decision on DOE Grid Rule

Via Utility Dive: Frigid conditions in the Northeast U.S. are stepping up demands on the power grid as federal regulators prepare to act on a controversial coal and nuclear subsidy rule from the Trump administration. Meteorologists expect Winter Storm Grayson to bring heavy snow, winds and coastal flooding to New England and the Eastern seaboard […]

Deep Freeze in U.S. Creates Heating Squeeze for Homeowners and Utilities

Via The New York Times: Homeowners, businesses and utilities across much of the United States were keeping a close watch on fuel supplies Wednesday as a record-setting cold snap caused demand for heating oil and natural gas to soar. With heating units in homes and commercial buildings running furiously to fend off the deep freeze, […]

America’s Power Grid Shows Signs of Strain Amid Deep Freeze

Via The Seattle Times: America’s power grid is starting to show signs of fatigue as the nation grapples with a record-breaking cold snap. In the Midwest, some natural-gas plants are having trouble getting supplies, forcing outages and increased use of fuel oil, Dustin Smith, a spokesman for the Southwest Power Pool, said on Tuesday. Some […]

Coal, Oil Get a Boost from Northern Cold Snap

Via Utility Dive: Brutal cold weather across portions of the country is altering the power mix for some electric grids, with oil leading over gas in ISO New England and coal doing the same in PJM. Despite the cold, there have not been any difficulties in continuing to supply fuel to power plants or electricity to […]

Barry Butterfield: Energy Diversity Still Needed

Via The Omaha World-Herald: The Nebraska Public Service Commission’s recent approval of a Keystone XL pipeline route across Nebraska has revived concerns about energy production and its environmental impact. Nevertheless, nuclear and coal still matter. In 2015, these two sources accounted for 87 percent of the energy generated in Nebraska. Nationally, they supply over half […]

Coal Mining Remains Significant Source of Revenue for Montana

Via The Independent Record: Although coal mining and the production from coal-fired power plants has declined in Montana, taxes on coal still remain a significant source of revenue for the state, bringing in $81 million to state and local governments in 2016. A report produced for the Environmental Quality Council, which is made up of […]

They Said Trump Couldn’t Reinvigorate Coal Industry – Did He?

Via Conservative Daily News: Experts said that President Donald Trump could not reinvigorate the coal industry with his deregulatory agenda – they were wrong. The Economist tweeted that “There is no reason to expect that Donald Trump’s decision will invigorate coal mining, as he claims it will” “Hogwash. These actions won’t save coal or help […]